Page 28 of Declan

A hand pulls my arm and slams me against the wall, my body bouncing off the wall with the force. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I can’t catch my breath, and tears form in my eyes, but I shake them off. Declan looks feral; his eyes are pure rage. His voice is a low rumble, his words coming deep from his chest, almost like a growl. He’s only wearing grey sweatpants, shirtless, all his torso tattoos on display under his tense muscles. I don’t realize how bloody and horrific most of them are.

“Let me go, Declan,” my voice hitching but serious as I try to push him away. He doesn’t move an inch; his body tenses as my hands hit his chest.

“You need to learn your place, Viviana; I’m sick of this shit.” His hands clench harder around my arm.

“What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Doing?” he repeats, punctuating each word with anger, a dark growl emanating from within him that makes me vibrate in fear.

His eyes fall on the photo in my hands, darkening with rage. “Viviana, drop the fucking photo,” he snarls, each word low and vibrating with barely restrained fury.

My fingers flinch as I release the picture, letting it flutter to the floor. He steps closer, his breathing heavy, chest rising and falling with each laboured breath. His eyes burn with anger, but there’s something else, something more profound, pain. And behind that, tears he refuses to shed.

“Declan,” Kian’s voice cuts through the tension like a blade, calm but cold, detached in a way that sends a shiver down my spine. “Let her go, brother.”

But Declan doesn’t move. His gaze never leaves me, and I hold it, refusing to look away. I can feel the heat of his fury radiating off him, suffocating. He’s close enough to touch, close enough to destroy me if he wants to.

“Get the fuck out,” he spits, releasing me with a sharp shove.

I don’t hesitate. I turn and bolt, my feet pounding against the hardwood as I fly down the stairs. My heart is racing, a violent thud in my chest.

His voice echoes behind me, dangerously sharp: “Lock her up, Kian, now!”

Panic surges through me, adrenaline flooding my veins. Not happening. I push harder, running faster, my mind spinning out of control. I catch sight of a guard at the corner, his head swivelling toward me in confusion. I don’t have time.

I grab a vase from the hallway table and smash it against his skull. He crumples to the ground with a groan.

I barely have a second to think. I snatch his gun, tucking it under my pants, and dart down the stairs toward the nearest window on the ground floor.

I hear shouts from behind me as the guard I knocked down calls for help. I choke on my breath as I throw it open, clambering out. The cool night air hits my skin like a shock, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop.

I sprint toward the left side of the estate, where the trees are thicker and the shadows darker. There’s a lake nearby, the only place in the estate without walls. If I can make it there, I can swim my way out of here. I push my legs harder, the muscles burning, but I don’t slow down.

My mind races faster than my feet, looping back to that date. October 31st. It can’t be. It can’t. I thought she died November 1st: that’s what my father told us. Not the 31st.

I shake my head violently, trying to clear the fog settling in. My breathing is ragged, choking me as panic rises in my chest, threatening to pull me under. Tears blur my vision, but I keep running, pushing through the suffocating fear. I have to get out of here. I have to.

I spot the lake in the distance, the sound of voices shouting echoing, though they feel far away. A dog barks from the other side, its bark sharp and urgent.

Suddenly, I trip over a tree stump, my head slamming into the ground with a jarring thud. Pain radiates through my skull, but I shake it off, wiping away the blood seeping from the gash on my forehead as I push myself to keep running.

I will leave this place tonight!

Chapter 9

Declan

Ican’t see anything through the haze of my rage and fury. My mind is clouded. No one has the right to come in here, especially Viviana and that fucking family. Is she looking for information about her father? Is she the mole? She can’t be. She doesn’t know anything, does she?Shit!I slam my hand against the desk, the pain shooting through my palm only fuelling my anger.

“Dec, she’s making a run for the lake!” Connor bursts into the room, breathless, his words slicing through the air like a warning shot.

“She’s what?!” The snarl rips from my throat, raw and violent. I feel my entire body morph into an animal; I’malready moving, muscles coiling like a predator on the hunt.

“The fuck she is!!”The declaration tears out of me, sharp and final, my voice laced with an unyielding promise.

My strides are relentless, each step pounding the earth like thunder. The thought of her running, of her thinking she can slip away, ignites something feral in my chest. Fury surges, hot and consuming, mixed with the cold, gnawing edge of desperation. She won’t get away. She doesn’t get to leave.

I’ll drag her back if I have to. Chain her. Lock her away if it means keeping her where she belongs.

The lake comes into view, and so does she. The sight of her fuels the storm brewing inside me, a fresh surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins. Her hair whips in the wind and the distance between us shrinks with every determined step I take.

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